DALLAS, Texas – Members of the Children of the American Revolution will honor local veterans at the Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Fair Park at the State Fair of Texas this Sunday, October 1, 2023 at 2:00. They will conduct a Wreath Laying Ceremony in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the conclusion of the Vietnam War. The children will also honor Colonel (Ret.) Julius S. Jayroe, a Captain and Pilot in the United States Air Force whose F-4 C Phantom II fighter plane was shot down over Vietnam. Colonel Jayroe spent 2,236 days in captivity at the infamous Hanoi Hilton before he was released. Upon his retirement from the Air Force, Colonel Jayroe moved to Texas, and now resides in the DFW Metroplex.
The Children of the American Revolution, or C.A.R., is the oldest patriotic youth organization in the United States. Membership is open to anyone who is under the age of 21 who is a lineal descendant of a person who rendered aid to the cause of American independence. The local Dallas Society is the oldest continuously operating C.A.R. Society in the State of Texas, and is sponsored by the Jane Douglas Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Children ranging in age from 2 to 17 will be participating in the Ceremony along with a bugler who will play Taps at the Ceremony's conclusion. Oliver Burke, President of the Dallas David Pendleton Society, will conduct the Ceremony. Burke, an honors student at Greenhill School, is an Eagle Scout with 23 Palms, the highest rank combination available; less than a couple dozen Scouts since 1910 have ever achieved this rare honor. Burke was also named a “Texas-24 Hometown Hero” by United States Representative Beth Van Duyne and a “Hershey Heartwarming Hero” by the Hershey Company for his conservation efforts to preserve the endangered Texas Blackland Prairie.
The Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial pays honor to those Texans who served the United States in that hard-fought and heavily debated conflict. Wreaths, bracelets, flowers, flags and other sentimental items are sometimes left next to the tablet bearing the name of a loved one. During the State Fair, visitors place small American flags next to the names of veterans they know – or just to honor those who served and sacrificed in the name of freedom. The Vietnam War Veterans Memorial is located at the intersection of First and Parry avenues, near the Automobile Building, and is staffed daily by the Friends of Texas State Vietnam Veterans Memorial.